Animal rights advocates stage a rally in Seoul on Jan. 21, 2022, demanding punishment of those responsible for the horse accident. KBS TV has apologized after revelations that a running horse was tripped by a rope and crashed head-first to the ground during filming of a historical drama and died about a week later amid allegations of animal abuse. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday it will introduce standard guidelines to protect animals appearing in films, TV series and advertisements.
This comes as a response to the recent death of a horse that was forced to trip and fall while filming the KBS historical drama “The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won.”
The ministry plans to first introduce the guidelines for the production staff in protecting animals on film shoots.
The guidelines will include basic principles, filming rules, and important points about various kinds of animals.
“The animal’s right to life should be respected, and they must not be treated as props or be injured in the process” is what the ministry is currently considering to include as the basic principle.
The ministry plans to set up a consultative group consisting of members from both private and public sectors of the film and media industry to establish the guidelines and ask the broadcasting companies to implement them in their respective codes of conduct.
The ministry also plans to include abuse of animals in films in the definition of ‘animal abuse’ set forth by the Animal Protection Act.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
